Kaʿb ibn Mālik?”

A man from the clan of Banū Salamah spoke ill of him, but Muʿādh ibn Jabal defended him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent, neither rebuking the slanderer nor commending the one who spoke in Kaʿb’s favor.

While they were in that state, he noticed a figure gleaming white in the distance—so white that it dispelled the shimmer of the mirage. The Prophet said, “Let it be Abū Khaythamah al-Anṣārī,” and indeed it was Abū Khaythamah.

This was either a sign of the Prophet’s inspired insight or of his keen eyesight—peace and blessings be upon him. Without doubt, he surpassed all men in acuity of sight, hearing, speech, and every faculty. He was given the strength of thirty men with respect to women, and likewise extraordinary strength in other matters; may my Lord’s blessings and peace be upon him.

That same Abū Khaythamah is the one who gave a sāʿ (a measure) in charity when the Prophet urged the people to give. Everyone donated according to his means. Whenever a man brought a large contribution, the hypocrites would say, “He is only showing off—look how much he gives, pretending it is for Allah’s sake.” But if a poor man came with a modest offering, they would sneer, “Allah has no need of this sāʿ of his.”

See—Allah’s refuge is sought—how they taunt the believers from every angle, just as Allah says, “Those who slander the contributors from among the believers concerning their charities, and those who can find nothing to give but their effort” (al-Tawbah 9:79); that is, when the believers give whatever they can, the hypocrites say, “Allah has no need of your sāʿ.”

Such is the hypocrite: a plague upon the Muslims. If he sees the generous, he mocks them; if he sees those who give little, he mocks them. He is the vilest of Allah’s servants, destined for the lowest depth of the Fire. And the hypocrites of our own time, whenever they target the righteous, the callers to Allah, and the people of